Ostensibly a children’s story in the form of a fable,
The Wind in the Willows has always been popular with adult readers
as well, because the principal characters have the traits of humans and their behavior, values, and actions offer valuable insights into human motivations and relationships. The riverbank and the wildwood are, in fact, a microcosm of human society, and the inhabitants offer a typical cross section of real-life persons, with their ambitions, weaknesses, strengths, and needs—among which is companionship.
The story opens with a memorable domestic scene: Mole is whitewashing and spring-cleaning his house. Like everyone else, however, he soon tires of these chores and decides to picnic in the inviting outdoors, where he meets the other inhabitants of the area and, ever impetuous, tries to row Rat’s boat but soon falls overboard. Rat and Mole visit the celebrated Toad, whose mansion, Toad Hall, is renowned throughout the region. Rat, somewhat too generous in his evaluation of others, describes Toad as "always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you go!" He then adds, however (by way of second thought), "Perhaps he’s not very clever—we can’t all be geniuses; and it may be that he is both boastful and conceited. But he has got some great qualities, has Toady." This characterization of Toad reveals Rat’s own character well: He is inclined to overlook weaknesses in friends, to be forgiving, charitable. This generosity is sometimes taken advantage of by others.
The three friends set off in Toad’s latest passion, his Gipsy caravan, but it is soon wrecked. As winter arrives, Rat and Mole visit Badger, who is a perfect host and entertains them admirably, even recounting Toad’s seven car accidents with some disdain for his frivolous life-style. After being entertained by caroling fieldmice, Mole reflects on his life and concludes that the simple life, dull and boring when compared to the world beyond, is nevertheless to be valued highly: Home has a value that cannot be measured by anyone else. "He saw clearly how plain and simple—how narrow, even—it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him." Otter arrives, announcing the concern of the inhabitants of the riverbank over Rat’s absence; he leads Rat home but soon requires his friends’ assistance in finding Portly, a young otter who has wandered off.
Throughout the story all the other characters, including the Wayfarer Rat (who tells Rat about the wonders of Constantinople, Venice, Marseilles, and other fabled cities), come to the conclusion that while the world beyond their narrow confines has a temporary attraction and charm, even the simplest, dullest home has greater satisfaction to offer. This viewpoint is captured in the chapter entitled "Dulce Domum" (home sweet home). Toad, always irrepressible, is the last to accept this: He plans to buy a new red sports car but is discouraged by Badger; however, he escapes from his friends, steals a high-powered car parked outside the Red Lion inn, and is sentenced to twenty years in jail. He escapes in disguise (as a washerwoman), persuades a train driver to give him a free ride, is pursued and then manages to get a ride on a canal boat before stealing the horse and selling it to a Gipsy. On the highway again, he is given a ride by the owners of the car, inveigles the owner into letting him drive, and crashes into a pond.
On his return to the riverbank, Toad learns that Toad Hall has been taken over by stoats and weasels. Badger, who knows of a secret passage into the house, plans an attack during a banquet and recovers the house for Toad, who is forced by him to celebrate with a great banquet for the neighborhood friends. To the very end, however, Toad exhibits his vanity: He wants to make several speeches; to recount his great adventures in order to suggest his cunning, skill, bravery, and sophistication; and to sing several songs of his own composition. Badger, however, forbids this and orders a simple celebration. He makes Toad reimburse those whom he had defrauded during his adventures. The result is a chastened Toad, an animal of greater worldly wealth than his companions but one who has come to appreciate the sterling qualities of his friends who are content with a simpler, less flamboyant life-style.